The Empty Seat
by FallenRose24
Summary: [BBxRae oneshot] It has been four years since the Teen Titans went their seperate ways. Lost in her feelings of loneliness, Raven thinks back to the team's seperate departures when she is visited by a man she would have never expected to see again.


Raven sat alone, the scent of her hot tea overpowering her senses as she rested in silence. The cushion of the booth she was in did nothing to soothe her mind and the faint sounds of recited poetry only filled her with the sense of longing as her eyes drifted halfheartedly over the open pages of her journal.

It had been nearly four years now since she had been alone. Well, maybe alone was not the best choice of words; Robin was still with her. Four years had flown by slowly, painfully, since the unforgettable day the Titans parted ways.

Raven had known that one day it would eventually happen, despite her desire to stay with them for the rest of her life, and so she had done her best to prepare herself for the inevitable separation. The empath's eyes bent in regret as the memories of their sudden departure still pulled at the strings of her heart. Never before had she felt so utterly abandoned.

----

_The sounds of anger echoed between the vast walls of Titans Towers in the presence of pale moonlight. Battles for the city were now over, the citizens and criminals finding it too late in the evening, or too early in the morning – however you like to call it – to even bother to be active any longer. With the town safe, the Titans took to their own internal conflicts as the memories of a recent battle came tearing into view._

"_Beast Boy!" Robin's deep voice rang, having grown more masculine with age. "What is your problem? Are you deaf? I told you not to rush him!"_

"_I had an open shot!" the changeling countered._

_The dark teen furrowed his eyes in frustration, the white slits of his mask thinning. "It doesn't matter! I gave you an order! You're suppose to follow it!"_

"_An order? I don't take orders from anyone and especially not from you, Robin!" The boy spat the name as if it were a curse in his mouth._

"_I told you not to call me that! Robin is a thing of the past!"_

"_Oh, that's right," Beast Boy huffed. "It's Nightwing, right?"_

"_Friends, please!" Starfire interjected, placing her body between the angry men. "We must not fight one another. Our battles are meant to be saved for the criminals, not each other."_

"_Yeah, dudes, chill." Cyborg sighed as he walked over the couch. He knew no matter what he said, they would continue to argue. Ever since Rob- Nightwing had turned twenty and Beast Boy became seventeen, the two had been at each other's throats._

"_Chill?" Nightwing laughed. "I'm suppose to chill when this idiot wound up getting Raven hurt and nearly got Starfire crushed to death? No! I'm not gonna chill!"_

"_Nightwing, I'm fine. There is no reason to fight over my injury when it's nothing I can't handle on my own," Raven spoke in her well-known monotone, her sapphire eyes boring holes into the leader's mask. Her gaze was cut as pain surged up her left arm, causing her to visibly cringe._

_Beast Boy's attention was caught at the sound of the dark girl's swift intake of air as Cyborg attempted to set her arm in a splint. The agony written across her face ate away at him slowly, causing him to completely forget the hateful words he had be throwing a few moments before._

"_Well, Beast Boy? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Nightwing challenged._

_The younger boy's eyes flashed dangerously as he whirled his head in the direction of his speaking teammate. "I don't see what the big deal is! I saved all your lives! I beat Rancid before he shot a single bullet!"_

_Raven's eyes shifted uneasily as the memory of the battle returned to her. She was still not accustomed to the use of dangerous firearms by their villains, but if any enemy – beside their deceased rival Slade – was going to hold a gun, it was Johnny Rancid. The criminal had grown up quite a bit, becoming the leader of his own Jump City gang known as the Black Hawks and taking an interest in illegal weapons, which he loved to test on the five fighters of justice frequently._

_Before the empath could utter a word in defense of the green boy, Nightwing cut her off. "You think knocking him into Raven was saving her? Do you really think slamming them both into a wall was helping anyone? Or was it the fact that part of the building nearly smashed Starfire that gave you the idea that you saved us all?"_

_Beast Boy couldn't take it anymore. He walked over to the other Titan, having to tilt his head up slightly due to the fact that Nightwing was about an inch taller than him, and spat in his face. "Raven said she was fine! She saved Starfire, didn't she? Not like you were doing anything to help out, anyway! You were too scared, hiding in that damn new outfit of yours!"_

_The leader wiped his face clean, his nose crunching as he bared his white teeth. "Starfire wouldn't have needed saving if it wasn't for your stupidity! If you want to act all brave and do things your way, then you have no right to be on a team! You wanna act like this? Then walk out those doors!"_

"_Fine!" Beast Boy countered. "I will!"_

_And that was that. The youngest Titan walked straight to his room and returned not five minutes later with a sack full of belongings. He never even bade them good-bye before sending a final prideful grunt in Nightwing's direction, walking out of the door and out of their lives._

_----_

Raven never found out what happened to the Titan after he left. She assumed he found a job with a music store of some sorts, or was given the chance to play tunes for clubs around the area seeing as how playing the piano and guitar had quickly become his new hobbies.

As the girl began to reminisce about his musical ways, her mind took her back to the sounds of his talent. She missed the melodies he would write more than anything now that she thought about it. Countless nights he unintentionally rocked her to sleep with the sound of his soft music bleeding through their dividing wall. Though she would have never thought it possible before, Beast Boy was truly gifted.

The empath closed her eyes, visions of Cyborg's abrupt leave and Starfire's final fight with Nightwing before the front door slammed shut echoing in her mind. Raven wasn't sure why she herself had not upped and left as well. Perhaps it was because she took pity on Robin, deciding to keep him company in the Tower, or maybe it was her own desire to keep herself from living a life alone. Whatever the case, it did not matter; Raven was still living in Titans Tower, she and Robin the only ones that remained of the now disbanded Teen Titans.

She wriggled slightly in her seat, still unaccustomed to the feel of street clothes as compared to her abandoned uniform. Once Starfire had left, Nightwing had official called the team a memory and the two had gone into town to extend their wardrobes. Raven had gotten lucky and found a store that suited her gothic style and had gone back on several occasions to buy new things. For once, she actually enjoyed shopping.

As her eyes remained shut, she tried to remember exactly what it was she was wearing. She could feel the pull of her studded collar and matching arm bands. The warmth of her black and blue lace-up arm warmers soaked into her skin to match the feeling of her torn fishnet shirt. She was sure the pants she was wearing were her black bondage pants with blue lining, for she felt the stabbing of a few studs that stuck out of the back pockets. The memory of the pants reminded her oddly of the tank top she was wearing over the fishnet; dark grey with a black Batman emblem. It had been a gift from Robin. Raven was sure that was all, but as she moved again, she felt the restrains of a belt. It must have been her studded one; it was the only one she wore. The tingles in her lower back only served to remind her of her now long hair. It was still something she had yet to get used to.

A sigh escaped her lips as images of her lost friends blinded her closed eyes. The pain, though aged by the years, was still fresh in her mind. Her hair continued to tickle her lower back, causing her to squirm uncomfortably.

"Damn, I don't know why I grew it out," she mumbled. "Such a pain."

"I think it looks good."

Raven's eyes shot open. The intruding voice caused her heart to skip a beat as a sense of familiarity brought her mind into denial. It couldn't possibly be him, and yet, when she opened her eyes, there he stood, gazing down at her with his right hand pressed against the booth.

"Hey beautiful, this seat taken?"

"B-Beast Boy? What…" Raven's eyes scanned him head to toe. "What are you wearing?"

"Four years of being apart and the first thing you say is about my clothes?" the changeling laughed full-heartedly. Though he had turned the dark girl's shock into a joke, he knew she had a right to be surprised. He stood before her clad in a black trench coat and matching muscle shirt. The shirt held the image of a dagger ensnared by a snake's form coiled around it. His black slacks nearly touched the floor, held up by a dark belt bearing the Titans logo on the buckle, which was shifted over near his left hip. Perhaps he was dressed a bit oddly, but then again, so was Raven. "Look at what I'm wearing? What about you? Batman, huh? I guess I could live with that."

A light blush crept over Raven's cheeks, which Beast Boy took as an opportunity to embarrass her further. "So, are you just gonna let me stand here or –"

"Oh! Sorry!" Raven piped up as she clumsily moved to her right, giving her old friend some room to sit down.

Beast Boy graciously took a seat, folding his arms on the table as he gazed at his surroundings. There were candles and incense burning everywhere he looked, giving the café an eerie aura that was strangely appealing. The sounds of poetry were a comfort to him as he adjusted himself in his seat.

"I seem to have rubbed off on you," the dark girl huffed before taking a sip of her herbal tea. "So what are you doing here, anyway?"

The green man smiled before leaning his back into the soft cushion of the booth. "I sorta came across a store the other day that reminded me of you. I walked in and ended up buying a ton of new clothes." Beast Boy paused, gesturing to his attire, and dropping his playful smile before continuing. "When the girl was ringing up the stuff, a book caught my eye. It looked just like those ancient magic books you used to always read, so I flipped through it. All poetry and short stories, each one with a dark theme. The title was really what snagged me, though: _Songs of a Raven: Poems and Stories of the Moonlight Café._"

Raven stiffened at his last words visibly enough for it to catch the man's attention before he resumed his story. "You've heard of it, huh? Well, the pictures in it were amazing. There were hand drawings, paintings, photos, collages, everything! Of course, I bought the thing and read through it that night. The last poem…I knew the moment I read the first line that I had seen it before and the author's signature at the very end just gave it away."

Beast Boy's became glazed in admiration as he shuffled through the left side of his trench coat. "I figured if I found the 'Moonlight Café', I would find the writer." He smirked as he handed Raven the book. "I wanted to get her autograph."

The empath's eyes widened as she gazed down at the familiar cover. "And…and what makes you think I wrote this?"

"Nice try, Rae," the green man laughed as he set the book down and flipped to the final page, where the author's signature lay steeped in black ink. "Not many people have the name Raven Roth, and plus, that last poem totally blew your cover."

Raven's blue eyes bent down in a comical glare as she studied Beast Boy's face. "The only reason you recognized the poem was because you read my creative journal five years ago and I won't even dare myself to ask how you came to know my last name!"

Beast Boy simply laughed at her growing agitation. After so many years of living without each other's company, he was still able to push all the wrong buttons on her. He found it amusing. "One, you left your journal on the couch five years ago, so it wasn't my fault, and two, I was actually just _hoping_ Roth was your last name. Lucky guess?"

Raven sighed in defeat, reaching for the pen she had on the table. She dipped it carefully into the bottle of black ink that rested next to her old poetry journal. Sending her friend one final glare, she began to write in the book.

"So," Beast Boy started, slightly uneasy. "Did your arm heal okay?"

The dark girl blinked in confusion at the odd question, but quickly realized what he meant. He was referring to the broken left arm he had last seen her with after his final battle with Johnny Rancid.

"Umm yeah," she spoke, not looking up from what she was writing. "I reduced it to a minor fracture and it healed completely in about a month."

"Wow, this is stuff is great!"

Raven looked up, the awkward response having thrown her mind into confusion. Her first guess was that he had somehow taken her journal without her knowing and had begun to read it, but what she didn't expect was to see Beast Boy licking his lips, her cup of tea in his hands.

"Hey waiter, get me whatever she's having!" the man shouted.

Seeing his attention distracted, Raven snatched the mug from his grasp and slammed it on the table, anger rising thought her pale features as she watched the black clad server give her friend a cup similar to hers.

"What are you trying to do," she nearly yelled. "Become my carbon copy or something?"

Beast Boy snickered at her snide remark. "Nah, there's still something different about us," he smiled, pointing to the J-shaped tattoos running down each cheek from the outer edge of his eyes, the bottom curved inward toward his nose. "See? Yours have two licks, mine only has one."

Raven shook her head in amusement. She had been shocked to see he had also gotten a set of tattoos, ones very similar to hers, mainly because of the fact that she had gotten them after he had already left. Looking down at her reflection waving in her mug of tea, the empath admired the dark look of her own face drawings, a similar shape to her friend's, but with an extra tail curved in toward her nose half way down the line on both sides.

"You said it yourself, Rae; you've rubbed off on me," Beast Boy laughed as he moved his hair to reveal two sets of piercings and a cartilage earring jutting out from his right ear.

The girl rolled her eyes, not amused by his unchanged smart-aleck behavior. Though her face was one of boredom, inside she silently cheered, content that she had beaten him with the number a piercings. Their ears matched each other in number of holes, but Raven had taken things further and pierced her left eyebrow with a spike stud. She then shrugged and handed him his book, finally finished with what she had meant to write. Her blush resurfaced when he thanked her and Raven mentally chastised herself for showing so much emotion. It wasn't like her, right? So why was she acting like this?

"So…umm…what have you been doing this whole time?" Raven coughed out, doing her best to conceal her red face. Dammit, she was really starting to miss her hooded cloak.

"Me?" Beast Boy childishly asked as he put the book away, knowing full well she was addressing him. "I've just been traveling around, playing songs for clubs and bars now and then. It pays pretty well, plus, I've still got that pension the city gave us when the Teen Titans were officially called off. How about you? Your job as a writer paying well?"

The empath nodded. "I'm still living in the Tower. I guess I'm just too attached to my room to leave." The touch of a smile grazed her lips as she spoke; she had been right about his career path. Her eyes delved into the shadows of forlorn as she gazed up at him. He had changed so much, his hair growing a bit longer, taking on a messier form, his eyes growing in depth, their color a stunning shade of emerald. A sudden memory of music shook Raven from her trance. She sighed as her eyes drifted closed, the familiar melodies of this man filling her troubled mind.

"Do you remember, Beast Boy –when we all lived in the Tower –how you would play your songs when everyone was supposed to be in bed?" She waited for the feel of the man's silent nod before moving to make her point. "Do you know how many times you lulled me to sleep with your melodies?"

Though the dark girl's words had been whispered at the very end, her eyes remaining shut, Beast Boy was able to understand her. His breath caught in his throat as he replayed her last few sentences in his mind. As he continued to gaze at her face, he noticed his left hand was unconsciously moving toward her, his fingers dangerously close to touching her cheek. Before it could get any further, Beast Boy recoiled his hand as if he had been burned, clearly shocked by his mind's strange urges.

Raven's eyes opened at the lack of response from her companion. Her sapphire orbs stripped apart every emotion laid within the emerald pools before her. Sorrow. Loss. Longing. Something struck the back of her mind. There was a feeling written that she could not decipher, but before she could call him on it, Beast Boy spoke.

"So, whatever happened to the others?"

The dark girl sighed. She already knew he would eventually ask her this, but that didn't make it any easier to answer. The memory of their departure was torture enough; she wasn't sure she could handle telling the story without letting her swallowed tears run down her face. Maybe that was why she was so eager to have those black tattoos on her cheeks; a symbol of the tears she could never shed. Swallowing her pain, Raven spoke softly to her friend.

"Cyborg left about six or seven months after you did," she started. "One day he came into the main room with his bags packed saying he couldn't take it anymore. His excuses all had to do with you."

Beast Boy flinched at her last sentence, but prompted her to continue.

"Every time he saw the Gamestation or walked past your room, he would become overrun by an insurmountable level of grief. He said something about the team not being the same anymore and then he left, taking the T-Car with him and leaving a black and blue motorcycle for me as a parting gift."

"Just like that?" the man's voice cracked as he attempted to digest the story. "He just walked out the door because he missed me?"

Another sigh escaped Raven's lips as she turned to look into Beast Boy's eyes. Regret crept back onto her face as she saw the guilt ridden in his green pools. "There was more to it than that. Ro-Nightwing never really backed down after his fight with you. To be blunt, he had become a pain in the ass, his ego big enough to make his head explode."

"Oh," the green man muttered. There was still a question nagging at the back of his mind, but he was simply afraid of the answer, but what's the point of living if you don't take chances, right? So he asked her. "Did…did Cy ever keep in touch?"

"Yeah," Raven smiled at his sigh of relief. "He sends me letters now and then from Metropolis."

"Metropolis! Dude! That's farther away than Gotham!"

The girl nodded at his true statement, but there was wisdom evident in her expression. "That's where he grew up, Beast Boy. He's working for S.T.A.R. Labs now, helping them build a stronger safety system. He said he's fixing and designing cars on the side, but he might just be making that up to impress me or shove his success in Robin's face."

S.T.A.R. Labs? Why did that name sound so familiar to the changeling? His face must have given him away for all it took was one look at it before Raven answered his unspoken question. That's where Cyborg's mother had worked, where she had died from an experiment that got out of hand, and the same place where their friend had lost half of his human body. Beast Boy sat in silence for a while, just simply contemplating his old friend's new career.

"It must be hard for him," he whispered. "Working at a place like that; a place with so many bad memories. I guess he's still trying to be the hero, still trying to make people's lives better than his. That's more commendable than what I've been doing."

Raven placed her left hand on the man's arm in an attempt to comfort him. "We all have our own strengths, Beast Boy. There is no need to belittle yourself for having a musical talent."

A genuine smile spread over his features as his old friend uttered words of kind guidance to ease his pained eyes. Despite her bitter bravado, Raven was still the same selfless girl she had been from day one. Beast Boy thanked whatever God lay in Heaven for keeping that part of her intact. As his admiration for her kind deed flooded his eyes, Beast Boy let his emotions run free, not even taking the time to consider the consequences for that he might do. He drew her face toward him and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, the cool feel of her Ajna chakra contradicting the warmth of his lips.

The sudden move of affection caused Raven's powers to zap out of control for a brief moment, knocking her tea cup over, its contents spilling all over the table. The dark girl quickly moved to pick it up and began to clean it the best she could while Beast Boy kindly signaled the waiter to bring her another glass.

Once the server had come and gone, Beast Boy continued his questions, forcing Raven to swallow her snide comment about his unexpected touch. "What about Starfire? Why did she leave?"

Raven's eyes nearly closed as her face fell in stabbing depression. Starfire's leave had been harder for her to bear, mainly due to the fact that the Tamaranian had failed to keep in contact with her. Despite their vibrant differences, the two had grown to be great friends and so losing someone like that had been a true stab a Raven's sanity.

"She…she stayed for almost two years before giving up," the empath choked. "The three of us were still struggling to fight crime together, but as time wore on, the tension in the Tower was too much for any of us to bear."

"Did she and Nightwing ever get together, or was that too good to be true?"

"It lasted about a year before Starfire finally called it off. That's when things really started to get ugly. Starfire never forgave Robin for what he said to you. In her own mind, she blamed him for tearing apart the team bit by bit and, even though she never said it to his face, he knew. About two months after they broke up, she left the Tower, but she didn't go silently like Cyborg; she went out with one final bang."

----

_The sound of slamming doors caused Raven to nearly drop her teapot as she began to pour the hot liquid into her awaiting mug. A sorrowful sigh escaped her lips as her ears caught the strong clash of angry voices filling the distant air. She knew she should be used to it now, but that didn't make the situation anymore comforting._

"_I have had enough!" Stafire's shrill voice shouted. "I will join in the actions of our friends and leave this horrible dwelling!"_

_The empath really did drop her tea this time. The cup collided with the tiled kitchen floor in a shatter, glass spilling over the girl's pale feet as the hot drink's sting failed to distract her. The sound of another friend's sudden good-bye twisted a knot in the girl's chest, making her dangerously short of breath as the doors nearby flew open, Starfire dashing through them with Nightwing hot on her trail._

"_Star, stop being so ridiculous! What's gotten into you?" the dark man countered._

_The alien stopped in her tracks, turning violently around to face her follower. "You have gotten to me. The hatred that you show has gotten to me. The way you push and pull Raven and I away from you has finally gotten to me. I can no longer stand this Tower."_

_With that, the golden-skinned girl walked toward the hall way, heading straight for her room. Raven followed Nightwing as he took off in pursuit; her mind refused to let her care that she was merely wearing her pajamas, her feet surging with the bitter cold as they hit the floor bare._

"_You can't just abandon the team, Stafire!" Nightwing yelled in utter frustration._

_Starfire grunted as she dragged a rather large bag out her door, sending an icy glare at the would-be leader. "This is no team, it has not been a team since the day Beast Boy left us. We have ceased to be a team for two years!"_

_Before the Tamaranian could get very far from her room, Raven's hollow voice froze her steps. "Starfire?"_

_A heavy sigh escaped to departing girl as sorrowful green eyes turned to face her pale companion. "Forgive me, friend Raven, if only you could accompany me, but I find you may like it better here on Earth than on my world."_

_Raven's eyes shot wide with shock as the news of the girl's destination became painstakingly clear. "Tamaran? You're going back to Tamaran?"_

"_Yes, I have gotten the sick for my home," Starfire whispered as she continued her walk toward the same doors Beast Boy and Cyborg had walked out of so many years ago._

_Nightwing clenched his fists as a wave of anger washed over his slouched form. Unable to contain his rage, he shot forward in a maddening dash to stop the retreating girl with his booming voice._

"_If you leave now – after all we've been through – then you're nothing but a coward!"_

_Starfire dropped her bag and it fell with a heavy clunk beside her. Raven slowly stepped back as she sensed a great amount of resentment rise in the once gentle girl. The redhead flew toward her verbal attacker, pulling him toward her by the collar of his uniform, her eyes glowing with fire._

"_You dare to label me the coward? If you are so eager to find weakness, then perhaps you have been looking too hard," the girl spat. "Robin, you may believe this new uniform makes you stronger, that this new mask makes you wiser, but I have never seen you more weak or ignorant in all my life."_

_Those were the last words she spoke before sending Raven an apologetic glance, her steps echoing in the distance as the door shut behind her. Robin and Raven simply stood there, disbelief clearly written on their faces._

"_It's over," Nightwing whispered. "The Teen Titans are finished."_

_----_

"I haven't heard from her since," Raven finished just below a whisper.

Silence took them. Raven and Beast Boy simply sat with no words shared between them as the memories of their friends became simply too much for them to handle. The empath could feel an overwhelming sense of guilt flood through the man beside her and yet, she could not see his face through the tears that had welled in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Dammit!" the changleling shouted as he slammed his black fists on the table. "I should have never left! This is all my fault!"

Black? That wasn't right. Raven quickly looked down at his hands and studied them, blinking back her tears. They were still green, but mainly covered by a pair of fingerless leather gloves with an opening showing the bottom portion of the back of his hand. Letting the image of his outfit fade from her mind, the dark girl tried to think of words to comfort him.

"You can't blame yourself," she began with a whisper. "What happened grew slowly from Robin's refusal to part with his pride, to ever admit he may have been wrong during that argument."

"But I was still a part of that fight!" Beast Boy's voice took on a shake of desperation and as he turned to gaze at his pale friend, he saw a jolt of shock pass through her at the sight of the tears streaming down his face. "I was prideful, too. You didn't see me letting down, did you? I'm the one who walked out the door and-"

He would have continued his desperate ramble if he could, but a sudden sensation stopped his voice. There was a blanket of warmth that passed through him as he felt arms wrap around him, pulling him into a soothing embrace. Without taking the time to think, the green man hugged the girl closer to him as if trying to draw out every ounce of comfort from her.

Raven sat there, her mind fending off her flowing emotions as the touch of Beast Boy's breath on her neck sent waves of shivers down her spine. The sudden jumps of her body only served to make the man hold her closer, burying her form in his black coat as if to keep her from the cold's painful touch. She sighed. It seemed her little gesture had turned into a hormonal escapade. That was not what she had been hoping for and yet, she felt – what was the word? – safe.

She tried to shake herself from his hold, afraid her rising emotions would cause harm, but it was no use, his grip was too strong. So, she simply gave in, letting him run a hand up and down her spine and his fingers through her amethyst hair.

"So what about you and Robin?" she heard him ask. "Did you two ever…well, seeing as how you're wearing a Batman shirt, I guess you-"

"It didn't last long," she breathed against his chest. "We were both alone in the Tower and he probably took my staying as a display of undying devotion or something else Starfire-like. It lasted about a year; that was all I could take. He had seemingly lost his knowledge of how to love someone and so everything between us was driven by lust."

She felt Beast Boy's muscles tighten at her words, his voice filled with disbelief as he whispered to her softly. "Did you two ever…you know…?"

Raven sighed. This man didn't know his limits. He had no right to ask her such a personal question, but then again, he was her friend, right? He was simply looking to understand what had happened.

"Yes," she hesitated. "That's all the relationship was about after awhile and that's why I ended it. Sure, I was amazed I had been able to do something like that without destroying the city, but Robin had changed. He wasn't the same, gentle boy he used to be when we were all together. We don't talk that much anymore. He still lets me live with him in Titans Tower, but my guess is that it's either out of pity for me and himself or he figures I have a right to stay since I did form the team with him so many years ago. He's lost his friends and the love of his life to pride and, despite the fights they had, deep down, he still cares for Starfire more than he will anyone else for the rest of his life."

Silence took them once more as they reflected on each story that had been told, each argument that had been described. In the beginning, they were seemingly invincible, a team that no criminal could hope to beat, and that remained true until the very end. It was not a villain that tore that Titans apart, it had been the fighters of peace themselves who caused their inevitable separation. The irony was sickening.

"If I had stayed," Beast Boy whispered in her ear. "Would things have been different between us?"

Raven felt a breath catch in her throat. What did he mean? "Different? Different how?"

The green man let out a soft laugh at her confusion, bringing a hand up to caress her hair, twirling its silky locks between his fingers. He took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet sent. "You smell like lavender."

The girl blushed, not expecting such a response to her question, and yet, his words gave her hint enough of what his answer to her inquiry would have been had he replied properly. Curious to test her theory, she voiced her thoughts once more.

"You…you still haven't answered my question."

His grip loosened and Beast Boy moved Raven so that he could look into her soft eyes as they searched his. He made no effort to speak, seeing in her blue pools an overwhelming sense of curiosity, fully knowing that the empath had already begun to look for the answer herself.

There it was again; in his eyes, that same emotion that held no face. This time, however, it was far more brilliant than before. Raven was at a loss of thought. What was this strange clouding that she could not decipher? Was he playing tricks on her?

"There is another reason for why you have returned, isn't there, Beast Boy?" the dark girl spoke, her eyes never leaving his. "I can see it in your eyes, hidden behind the haze of your aged guilt. There is something I cannot name."

"You're the empath, Raven," the man huffed. "Aren't you supposed to see all that I'm feeling?"

The girl shook her head. "I can only see what I have felt as well. This emotion within you is one I am not familiar with. Please, tell me what it is."

Beast Boy let her go, a rush of anger filling his senses as Raven finished her words. He tore his gaze from hers and promptly stood up, placing the money for their drinks on the table before turning his back to the girl, his treasured book in his grasp.

"So you haven't felt this, huh? Not once in your life? Well, I don't believe you," he scoffed, turning his head to the side so he could shoot a cold glance at her. "It's not a matter of reading emotions, Rae, you're just too blind to see anything."

With that, the former Titan walked out of the café in a prideful stride. A few moments passed before Raven picked up her belongings and darted after him. A burst of heavy rain and wind drenched the poor girl as she fought against the harsh weather she had not been prepared to face. Damn the news and their horrid weather reports. She was not dressed for rain.

Through the blankets of water, the sorceress caught a glimpse of a retreating form. "Beast Boy!" She desperately called.

The man stopped, his friend's crying voice pulling at his heart. He waited for her footsteps to draw nearer, to grow more frequent, and then to finally stop behind him. Without turning around, he listened for her to speak, paying no mind to the attacking rain.

"Beast Boy, please," Raven whispered, out of breath. "If you won't say what it is, then at least tell me why I see so much loneliness in your eyes."

He turned to her, gazing down at her soaked form, realizing just how helpless she looked. Despite how much he wanted to be angry with her, to yell at her for tearing him apart, he couldn't. There was something about her that kept him from rage.

"Loneliness?" he began. "Maybe it's because I've lived alone for the past four years, Rae, with no one but a faceless crowd around me when I play my music."

The dark girl was caught off guard. Had Beast Boy not found someone to stay with? After all of his bragging when they were younger about his vibrant sex appeal, had he not asked a girl to be with him? It seemed so abstract to consider.

"Alone?" Raven questioned. "You mean the guy who always went to town to search for hot dates doesn't have a girlfriend?"

Beast Boy let a pained laugh escape his lips as he looked at his shocked friend. "I guess my heart always belonged to someone else. No one else but her could have it."

The empath's heart sank. Terra. She knew it, it had to be her. Who else could it be? How many years had it been since her untimely death? Six years? It had to have been at least that long and yet, here he was, still pining for her. Why?

"Beast Boy," Raven whispered, lowering her gaze to the watered ground. "I think it's about time you let her go. I'm sure there are a lot of girls out there who would love to be with you, if you would just let them." She looked up at him, to see if he was listening before she continued. "I was there when she left you, so maybe I can help you get over her. I know I'm not very good at comforting others, but I might-"

"You can't," the man interrupted.

"Why?"

"You just can't!"

Raven glared at him. She would not take such a vague answer and be content. "Tell me why!"

"Because you're her!"

Raven froze, her journal and other trinkets falling to the floor. What had he just said? She was the one who had his heart? Her? That couldn't be right. Maybe she had just heard him wrong with the hard gusts of wind muffling his voice. There was no way he could possibly love her.

"You're the girl, Rae, you have been ever since the day I met you."

"I…I…" Raven stuttered, at a complete loss for words. "I don't know what to say."

Beast Boy walked toward her, placing his gloved hands on her arms, forcing her eyes to look up into his. His smiled at her, a genuine one, in an attempt to show her he wasn't angry with her like he had seemingly been earlier.

"All these longs years I've been in love with you and just didn't have the guts to speak up. I lost you three times and now look at us, we're standing face-to-face, I'm touching you, and even if things don't go any further than this, I can die happy."

The changeling's words made her heart skip a beat as a familiar sparkle returned to his emerald pools. Old memories resurfaced as she tried to find the three times he had let her go. She came up short. What was he talking about?

"Three?" she questioned quietly.

"From the moment I met you, I wanted to see you smile, I wanted to give you laughter," Beast Boy spoke, leaning his forehead against hers. "I didn't do all of that just to get you mad at me, Rae."

Though his eyes were closed, Raven could feel them fill with tension, or maybe she just thought they were since he was gripping her arms tighter. Whatever the case, she knew what would come from his mouth next. Terra.

"Then Terra came along." She was right. "And she gave me everything I had been trying to get from you. She smiled, she laughed at my jokes, and she openly cared for me. I guess you could say I was in love with her because of my feelings for you," he added with a laugh. "I lost sight of what I held dear. I ignored you, pushed you into the shadows, and every night I hated myself for it. When she left, I thought I would never love again, never be able to open my heart to anyone."

Beast Boy opened his eyes, moving his head back. Raven couldn't be sure if he was crying due to the rain spilling on his face, but the agony plaguing his emerald orbs was enough to rip her apart. She gave him a concerned look, begging him to stop if the memory of the blonde Titan was too much to bear. He simply shook his head and continued.

"Then I saw your face, I saw how much pain you were hiding. I don't know if it was really Terra's betrayal that brought you so much agony or if it was the fact that if we had listened to you, she might still be alive. That doesn't matter though. Seeing you so hurt made me realize just how human you were; just how human you still are. I was a fool, Rae, and sometimes I used to think you could never feel the sting of pain and it made me envy you, but seeing you like that – so broken – made me love you even more." He smiled at her gentle confusion, lifting his right hand to brush away the wet hair pasted to her pale face, briefly sheltering her eyes from the water overhead. "You proved to me, in that moment, that you were nothing like your father; that you never would be. We were all moping about and yet you gave up that opportunity to grieve just so you could be there if someone needed strong arms to come to."

Before she could speak, Beast Boy pulled her into an embrace, covering her from the rain as it continued to fall around them. Being a help to her friends during Terra's death had not been her intention, but as she reviewed her reasons for keeping silent, she found him to be right. Though she had been angry with her teammates for having shunned her when the idea of that geomancer's treachery fell from her lips, she knew that she couldn't hold a grudge without feeling guilt. She had fallen victim to Terra's false mask as well and so, she felt as if she owed her friend's a silent apology. How would she do that without killing her reputation? By not breaking down when the blonde gave her life for them, by being there when someone cried for the girl.

"And then I let that wizard kill you," Beast Boy suddenly whispered harshly. "I sat there on your damn wall watching him deceive you and I didn't do anything about! I let him take you from me, I let him hurt you, and yet, you still forgave me."

"You can't blame yourself for that," the empath spoke, lifting her head to face him. "I was the one who let Malchior toy with me. Even if you had tried to interfere, you know I wouldn't have listened."

The green man saw the truth in her words, a pain in his heart finally lifting. A smile formed on his features once again, revealing his fangs. Raven took the time to notice them, now considerably longer than before. They almost reminded her more of a vampire than of a canine. How odd.

"But I didn't stop there, Rae," he continued, his smile falling. "I walked right out that door, leaving you behind for good. I don't know what went through my head in that moment; all I know is that I was regretting that decision the very moment I started walking through the city. I had given up a good life, let go of my chances with you, and left you alone and in pain. I break your arm by accident and what do I do? I walk out on you. I'm sorry, Raven."

The dark girl felt him shake as he brought her even closer to him. Without needing to see his face, she was certain he had let his tears run free to merge with the water already staining his cheeks. If he had truly felt this way, then why had it taken him four years to find her? It wasn't like she was difficult to locate or something. Not many people in Jump City have purple hair and grey skin. So, why?

"Beast Boy…"

"I was just so afraid of coming back to you," he chocked. "I had beaten myself up for so long for leaving you that I was convinced you hated me for it. I was such an idiot, Rae."

"Stop. Stop belittling yourself over what's already happened. There is not point dwelling on the past when it cannot be changed. All that matters is the future, Beast Boy," she moved out of his embrace to look into his tear-filled eyes. "Our future."

The changeling froze. His breath caught in the knot building inside his chest as his heart began to beat faster. Had she just – did she just – was he dreaming? Their future? Did that mean she didn't hate him? Was she giving him a chance?

"Raven…" Beast Boy whispered as he brought a shaking right hand to her face, caressing her cold cheek.

The gothic girl did not move to stop his touch. Her eyes became bent in sorrow as hidden tears filled her eyes, begging to fall after having been locked away for so long. The pain within her came to her mouth and dropped from her form in the shape of words she should have spoken years ago.

"I don't want to be alone anymore," she barely whispered.

"You won't be."

Those were the only words shared between them before Beast Boy brought the girl toward him, gently setting his lips over hers. Raven wrapped her arms around the boy's neck, drawing him closer, unwilling to break from their passion as she felt herself relax. The worry of her unruly emotions fled her mind as their kiss wiped away her fear. Never before had one man had such power over her and yet, despite her independent nature, she was not bothered by it.

As they stood there, entwined in love's duet, the rain continued to pour from the sky, its streaks of water serving to hide Raven's tears as they finally cascaded down the trail of her eye markings no longer driven by sorrow. An unfamiliar joy blanketed her soul as she felt the empty seat within her heart be filled by the most unlikely person imaginable…

The one she had learned to love.

-.The End.-  
-------------------

Author's Note: Well, that was my very first oneshot. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This actually just started out as just a request I was drawing for bittersweetbeats and then I was suddenly inspired to make a background story...it just ended up becoming a 16 page backgroung story.

If you want to see the picture that goes with the story, you can find it here:

http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 20593968/


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